Synopses & Reviews
Easy-to-follow guidance on administering an estate or trustAdministering an estate or a trust is a big responsibility. This practical, authoritative guide contains advice for handling estates and trusts large or small, offering solid advice on reading and interpreting documents, and helping anyone involved in an estate or trust avoid paying too much, or too little, tax and other administrative expenses. It also shows you how to take care of a loved one's estate in the event he or she never created a will or other estate planning documents.
Understand and follow the rules — administer estates and trusts to ensure a smooth transfer of property and orderly management of fiduciary affairs
Assemble a team — choose the legal and financial experts, and know when to use them
Navigate the probate process — move efficiently through each step, whether your decedent had many assets or just a few
Identify and liquidate estate assets — whether owned outright, jointly, or in a trust
Settle debts and pay bequests — from paying funeral expenses and administration costs to segregating and distributing named property
Operate a revocable or irrevocable trust — understand a trustee's duties, responsibilities, and limitations
Make sound trust investment decisions — diversify holdings and meet beneficiary needs
Comply with income and estate tax regulations — from the decedent's final Form 1040, through the estate's Form 706, and the estate and trust's Form 1041
Open the book and find:
An overview of executors' and trustees' duties
Reviews of the probate process and estate taxes
Tips on finding and managing professional help
Advice on notifying insurers of a death
Steps for closing an estate
Rules for establishing and funding a trust
Essentials on estate and trust record keeping
Fundamentals of preparing federal estate tax and estate and trust income tax returns
Synopsis
Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies is an easy-to-follow guide for the deceased’s family on the execution of the assets, debt, property and the estate according to the deceased’s wishes and the law.
Synopsis
An easy-to-follow guide to executing an estate or trust
Settling an estate and administering a trust can be complicated, messy, and time-consuming for individuals named as executor or trustee--most of whom have no previous experience with such matters. Estate &Trust Administration For Dummies provides all the information the reader needs to confidently and correctly execute the assets, debt, and property according to the deceased's wishes and the law. This practical, authoritative guide contains advice for handling estates and trusts large or small, offering solid advice on reading and interpreting documents and helping one's heirs avoid paying too much (or too little). It also shows readers how to take care of a loved one's estate in the event that a will or trust was never created.
Margaret Atkins Munro, EA (Essex Junction, VT), is a tax advisor and writer with more than 30 years' experience in various areas of taxation and finance. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of trusts, estates, family tax, and small business. She is coauthor of Taxes For Dummies 2008 (978-0-470-17567-5). Kathryn A. Murphy, Esq. (Wayland, MA), is an attorney with over 20 years' experience in estate planning and administration. She has extensive experience in the administration of estates both large and small, trust administration, and the preparation of estate and gift tax returns. Margaret and Kathryn are the only author team on the market consisting of an estate and trust tax professional and an attorney.
Synopsis
Executing an estate or a trust fund is a big responsibility.
Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies contains advice for handling estates and trusts of any size. It offers solid pointers on reading and interpreting a will and other documents, and helping heirs avoid paying too much (or too little). It also shows you how to take care of a loved one's estate in the event that a will or trust was never created.
This authoritative, plain-English guide helps you understand and follow the rules that govern estates and trusts, ensure a smooth transfer of property, and manage fiduciary affairs in an orderly manner. You’ll get help choosing and assembling a team of professional advisors, settling debts and paying bequests, operating a revocable or irrevocable trust, and making sound trust investment decisions. Discover how to:
- Understand executors’ and trustees’ duties
- Read and interpret important documents
- Properly execute an estate or trust
- Handle estates both large and small
- Get familiar with the probate process and estate taxes
- Identify different types of trusts
- Follow the deceased’s wishes — and the law
- Notify insurers and employers of a death
- Follow the steps for closing an estate
- Establish, fund, and change ownership of a trust
- Keep proper trust records
Yes, you can do the job and do it well. All you need is a little help from Estate and Trust Administration For Dummies.
About the Author
Margaret Atkins Munro, EA, is a tax advisor, writer, and lecturer with more than 30 years' experience in trusts, estates, family tax, and small business.
Kathryn A. Murphy, Esq., is an attorney with over 20 years' experience administering estates and trusts and preparing estate and gift tax returns.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1Part I: Discovering the World of Estates and Trusts 7
Chapter 1: Functioning in a Fiduciary World 9
Chapter 2: Estates 101: Exploring the Ins and Outs of Estates 19
Chapter 3: The Lowdown on Trusts: Identifying the Different Types 31
Chapter 4: Assembling Your Team Members and Knowing When to Use Them 55
Part II: Administering an Estate 69
Chapter 5: Taking the First Steps after Death 71
Chapter 6: Navigating the Probate Process 87
Chapter 7: Marshalling and Liquidating Assets 103
Chapter 8: Paying the Debts, Expenses, Bequests, and Devises from the Estate 125
Chapter 9: Closing the Estate 137
Part III: Operating a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust 147
Chapter 10: Understanding the Trustee's Duties 149
Chapter 11: Funding the Trust 159
Chapter 12: Investing the Trust’s Assets and Paying Its Expenses 171
Chapter 13: Paying Trust Benefi ciaries 191
Chapter 14: Creating and Keeping Trust Records 205
Chapter 15: Terminating the Trust 219
Part IV: Paying the Taxes 229
Chapter 16: Preparing the Estate Tax Return, Part 1 231
Chapter 17: Preparing the Estate Tax Return,Part 2 251
Chapter 18: Filing Income Tax Returns for a Decedent, Estate, or Trust 275
Chapter 19: Reporting Tax Info on Schedule K-1 299
Part V: The Part of Tens 309
Chapter 20: Ten Pitfalls for the Unwary 311
Chapter 21: Ten Types of Taxes You May Have to Pay 317
Appendix A: Glossary 323
Appendix B: State-by-State Summary of Rules of Intestacy and Probate, Estate, or Inheritance Tax 333
Index 357